Amadan and Mortair Kill the King
★★★★☆ Sharp
Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 24): Fri 7 – Fri 14 Aug 2026
Review by Erin Frances Speirs
Amadan and Mortair Kill the King, at Gilded Balloon’s patter house for Week One of the Fringe, is the hilarious writing debut from Alex Bathe and Josh Aitken of the hit Dungeon & Dragons live show, Tartan Tabletop.
This spirited and ferocious farce explores the fate of two guardsmen who accidentally kill their King, when a mix-up of medicine and poison – puppy-eyed fool Amadan (Niall Curran) is unable to tell the difference between the colours “blurple” and “plue” – leads to King Reggie’s (Abi Price) death.
Naill Curran, Tom Whiston, Abi Price and Alex Bathe. Pic Tartan Tabletop.
The conniving Mortair (Alex Bathe) and clueless Amadan seek the help of a demon (Tom Whiston) to save them from the punishment of regicide. The next hour is packed with non-stop jokes, fourth-wall breaks, and dance-numbers from a dynamic cast.
Abi Price is hilarious as the privileged and self-centred King, and acts as an impressively lifeless corpse when needed. As unlikable as the character of King Reggie is, it is impossible to not laugh along to Price’s zany commitment to the role. Her commanding silliness on stage is enhanced with costuming by Nuala Dunbar, which includes a renaissance style pointed hat with a large letter “R” on it, making Price’s King Reggie look more like a large child than royalty to be respected.
authenticity
Alex Bathe portrays Mortair with clarity, placed as the straight-man forced to partake in this absurd tale. Stupid characters can often become tedious quickly, but Niall Curran plays his role of a man who has been kicked in the head by a horse with strong authenticity, creating a loveable idiot to foil Mortair’s practicality.
Tom Whiston creeps around the stage as both the Demon and narrator, acting as the audience’s guide. His comic timing and rapport with the audience, right from the play’s opening lines, is a massive asset to creating audience comfortability and easing in the later audience interaction.
When the bells of his jester costume can be heard as he lurks behind the audience, it’s most likely unintentional, but it adds a silly yet haunting atmosphere to the omnipresent demon.
Abi Price. Pic Tartan Tabletop.
The fourth-wall breaks and audience interaction are executed with flair. Using both lighting and the actors’ comedic and personable talents, audiences easily accept and trust the performers with these moments. The direction – a combination of work from Kate Stamoulis, Becca Donley, and Alex Bathe – is seamless, with actors freely moving between scenes.
chemistry
The chemistry within the cast is obvious, with each actor clearly enjoying every minute of their performances. This does, occasionally, lead to corpsing – and not just the type the King becomes. However, the lighthearted atmosphere created by Bathe and Aitken’s witty writing and the cast’s full acceptance of buffoonery – as well as their ability to stay in character throughout their laughter – only adds more enjoyment to this preposterous play.
Alex Bathe, Abi Price, Tom Whiston and Naill Curran. Pic Tartan Tabletop.
Amadan and Mortair Kill the King is filled with raunchy jokes, without feeling immature. The sharp, scintillating, and sexual writing carries throughout the production. There is one moment near the conclusion of the play that asks the audience to choose which of the guardsmen should be punished. Although still humorous on a basic level, this punishment is the least deft portion of the production, and brings the overall level of comedy down in the final moments of the play.
An impressive piece of debut writing from Bathe and Aitken, this hour-long romp, overflowing with gags, soul-stealing demons, and playful yet ever present critiques of class divide, is a must-see play for any fan of absurd, slapstick humour.
Running time: One hour (no interval).
Gilded Balloon Patter House (Blether), Adam House, 3 Chambers Street (Venue 24).
Friday 7 – Friday 14 August 2026.
Daily: 1pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Tartan Tabletop: Threads: @tartantabletop
Instagram: @tartantabletop
Linktree: @tartantabletop.
Tom Whiston. Pic Tartan Tabletop.
ENDS
